The 18th Life
by Metronome I Hear
Summary: The world is a strange place, which allows for many strange things. Sometimes, those things can be explained. And others, that explanation never comes. For one man, he never got an explanation. Because for 17 lives, he had lived and died only to wake up again in a new Body. He is the reincarnating man. Now reborn again, this time as Uzumaki Naruto, he lives the 18th life.
1. Prologue

_I don't know why I feel like writing this down, as it has never really occurred to me to record my various lives in this way, but a friend told me it helps organize their thoughts so I here I am, giving it a shot. One never knows until he tries._

 _Perhaps an explanation is in order. My name at the moment is Uzumaki Naruto and I have the oddest...condition of having been reincarnated 17 times._

 _I don't know why - and I don't think I'll ever find out why - but when I die, I always seem to just wake up again in a new body. Because of this I have lived a great number of lives as various people in various situations and have seen the world from many different perspectives._  
 _This puts me in a strange position many times, but in a life like the one I'm leading now, it's indefinitely useful._

 _I don't remember much from when I was young in my first life. It's mostly blurred pictures of darkness, the smell of old books, old hands holding mine and leading me down dark corridors. I can remember the candles that lit the library where they made me live. I can remember the futon in the corner where I slept. I can remember the wooden bars of the cage they kept me behind. It was a sad beginning, spent almost entirely reading by candlelight and being led along dark corridors by the priests that worked there. It was lonely, but I can remember powering through. I can remember waiting hoping that one day someone would come along and get me out of that room where I lived. And he did._

 _I was 7 when he found me. His white hair slicked back, his eyes were a violet that looked red in the candlelight, and his form was tall, much taller than I at the time. He smiled gently at me, unlike the other people there who looked at me with indifference and negligence. He used to whisper to me and tell me stories about the outside. A place no one else would tell me anything about. He was young, younger than many who lived at the monastery. Many thought him foolish for that, but I knew better. I knew the god everyone seemed to worship there favored him and I told him so many times._

 _When I was 13 he managed to break me out. I remember him waving his scythe around, wounding the priests that tried to keep me there. I remember him telling me that I would be alright and that soon I would see the outside world. And I did. He finally took me outside and I got to see the outside world and all its wonders. He and I traveled long and far in that life, and he showed me many things._

 _But it was not meant to be, for while I eventually aged and grew old, he never did age past 20 or 30. That was his blessing from the god he worshiped, and while he thanked the god he served for His gift, he wished that I could stay with him longer. That life was a good life, and that was the life where I met Hidan._

 _In that life, I was called Daichiro._

 _The next life saw me in a small peasant village. I didn't do much in that life, just working in the farm and helping people whenever I could. I learned of the hard work that came with a civilian's life in that reincarnation. The most notable thing that happened during that life was a man named Hagoromo who came to visit me when I was old and frail. He and his brother told me they were priests and, remembering my last life well, I allowed them to stay with me in my home whenever they needed a place to rest. I found out in my next life that the two went on to become legends. Hagoromo became known as the Sage of Six Paths._

 _That life I was called Aoba._

 _My third life found me as the son of a noble. I wasn't a heir so little was expected of me, but that life was an interesting one for me nonetheless. Hagoromo had introduced the world to something called chakra and Ninshuu during the time it took for me to be reborn, and I spent much of that life experimenting with the strange energy. In that life I spent much of it in the courtyard, reading scrolls and writing my findings. I died of a sickness in that life, one that caught me unprepared and left me dead shortly after my wife bore me two sons._

 _In that life I was called Eiji._

 _The forth life I lived was that of a healer's. Like my second life, I was born to a young peasant family in the countryside. Spurred on by having died like I did in my third life, I dedicated myself to learning how to heal. I took on many students, teaching them the ways of herbs and medicine. My favorite student, though, was a man by the name of Senju Giri. The clan had popped up in recent times, and was only just getting started. However they were kind folk despite being fighters, and I found myself helping them when I could._

 _In that life I was called Haruo._

 _My fifth life was perhaps an irony. I was born into a clan called the Uchiha. Their enemies were the very people whom I had so enjoyed helping in my last life. It was while I was in this clan that I discovered that the Uchiha were descendants of the sage that had stayed in my house once upon a time. Because of this, I tolerated their stuck up ways and learned how to fight from them. They, along with many other clans that were being formed during that time, had created an odd way of fighting using techniques called 'Jutsu'. They called this the way of life, the way of the Shinobi. Thus, Ninjutsu became a part of my daily life._

 _In that life I was called Fuzen._

 _My sixth life had me born into a family of samurai. It was an odd change from a Shinobi, as many of the ideals were different, but it was welcomed nonetheless. I did so enjoy the various ideas of nobility and honor that came with living a samurai's life, but I found a few of their customs a bit extreme. Learning to use the sword the way they did was interesting to say the least, for it was very different from the styles that I had seen some of the Uchiha use, and I had never picked up the sword myself._

 _In that life I was called Hazuki._

 _My seventh life found me in the world of Shinobi again, this time born to a clan called the Uzumaki. They were seal masters, and I did enjoy learning the art. I became one of the best masters of the clan, and in that life I fell for the heiress of the clan, a woman by the name of Eiko. We got married, and I was made head of the clan. She bore me four children. I look upon the time I spent in this family fondly, as they were always friendly and open with one another._

 _In that life I was called Akahiko._

 _My eighth life did not last long. My mother in this life died when bearing me, and my father followed soon after. I spent my years in this life on the streets, and eventually starved to death at age 7._

 _In that life I was called Natsume._

 _In my ninth life I took up healing again. This was the first life in which I was not born male, and it was quite awkward when I was growing up. I eventually did come to accept my gender in that life, although I did hold a new appreciation for woman and the roles they played in the lives of men. That was also the first life in which I fell for a man. He was a Shinobi that I had found injured outside the house where I lived. I took him in and nursed him back to health. Somewhere along the way I fell in love with the man. Children in that life had been a new experience for me, as in that life I was the one to birth them rather than a wife. After birthing a daughter I could say I respected woman a great deal more for their strength and their ability to bear with pain. Childbirth was horrifying._

 _In that life I was called Fuuko._

 _In my tenth life I was a woman again, and this time it wasn't quite as odd as it was as Fuuko. By this point I had lived for so long, and I spent much of my time in this life simply reflecting on my previous lives. I secluded myself in a house in the woods and gave advice to anyone who stopped by, rare as it was._

 _In that life I was called Hara._

 _My eleventh life I lived out as a peasant again. Much like my second life, nothing much of interest happened other than distant rumors of Shinobi clans warring. I spent my time in this life simply relaxing and taking a break, and trying not to think too heavily on the many lives I had lived by then._

 _In that life I was called Ieyasu._

 _My twelfth life put me back in the world of Shinobi. Born as a woman again, I spent my life in the Nara clan simply cooking, cleaning, and healing the wounded that came home. War had escalated since my last life, especially with the Senju vs Uchiha rivalry going at an all time high. Much like in my ninth life, I fell for a man again. He and I had two children, one whom I lost when he went out to his first battle, and the other who outlived me._

 _In that life I was called Heiko._

 _My thirteenth life had me born in the desert in the middle of a sandstorm. That life was a different one, as I spent much of it traveling within the small tribe that I was born to. It was in this life that I caught my first sight of a tailed beast. The beast was the Ichibi, Shukaku. He seemed mad to those around me, but I could relate with him. So long a time spent alive is enough to send anyone mad. I was surprised that I hadn't gone crazy myself. He seemed to recognize me though, calling out the name "Aoba". The name I held when I met Hagaromo in my second life was the reason he would not kill the tribe I lived with._

 _In that life I was called Junpei._

 _My fourteenth life had me both a woman and isolated again, for it was in that life that I discovered something that I hadn't known in any of the other lives that I had lived. I discovered that through the manipulation of my chakra that I could take on the forms I had in my other lives. I spent this life experimenting with my chakra and seeing how long I could change my appearance into that of my other lives and didn't see much of anyone in that life._

 _In that life I was called Kaeda._

 _In my fifteenth life I was born to a samurai family once again, however that didn't last long. When I was but five, the home I lived in was raided and I would have been killed had I not shifted into the body I had as Fuzen and killed the attackers. I spent the rest of that life wandering around the countries and learning everything I could. In that life I met two tailed beasts. One was the Nibi, who went by the name of Mattabi, and the other was the Hachibi, whom was called Gyuuki. They both were kind to me, and helped me while I stayed with them, and I said that should I see them again in one of my other reincarnations, that I would be sure to say hello._

 _In that life I was called Chiikaze._

 _In my sixteenth life I grew up as a noble again. I was the youngest daughter of the Water Daimyo and spent much of that life weaving my way through politics. My father in that life ordered me to marry a nobleman from Lightning Country to help cement the treaty the two were trying to arrange. However sickness once again took me before I could fully live out my life._

 _In that life I was called Kaida._

 _My seventeenth life was as a Senju. Much of the earlier years were filled with fighting, however I did manage to make a good friend in my student. His name was Hashirama, and was later named heir of the clan. Later on, when he took control of the clan, I was happy to see that he made a treaty between the Senju and the Uchiha. It was nice to have the Shinobi world at peace for once, rather than at war and I had great fun helping the clans who signed the treaty build Konohagakure. I had a good feeling about the village and I loved seeing so many clans that were once enemies work together to create a home._

 _In that life I was called Mamoru._

 _I now live in my eighteenth life, born on October 10th to Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato._  
 _This is where I will stop writing, as this life I haven't lived out yet. Perhaps I shall continue writing in this journal again one day, but for now I have a life to live that's not already ended._

 _Signing off_

 _Daichiro, Aoba, Eiji, Haruo, Fuzen, Hazuki, Akahiko, Natsume, Fuuko, Hara, Ieyasu, Heiko, Junpei, Kaeda, Chiikaze, Kaida, Mamoru, and Naruto_


	2. Chapter 1 - Too many Stairs

**AN: Hello everyone! I just wanted to say, thank you sooo much for the good response! Especially you people who reviewed. The reviews spurred me on and I ended up finishing this as quickly as I could in order to get it too you.**

 **I do have** **a few things I have to say before we get onto the chapter though. Some of you may notice that I changed the Humor tag to drama, as after I started to plan out more and more of the plot and when I started writing** **the chapter itself, I discovered that this wouldn't really be as humors** **as I had thought it would be upon getting the idea. I also changed out Kurama's tag with Gaara and added Sasuke as well. I did this because when I first posted the prologue, I hadn't planned the entire plot out just yet and only had a vague** **idea of where I was going with this. Now I have sat down written most of the plot, up to the fourth shinobi war in fact, and while I don't have an ending to this story just yet I do have 11 pages of notes on what I am going to be doing with this story. I would also like to let you know that while Hidan is still a character in the tags, he will not be showing up until roughly shippuden time so you won't be seeing much more than Naruto thinking back on him for quite a while. A couple people asked about pairings and I will say this: I don't know. When I started this I had no intention of having any romance in it beyond the various wives and husbands that Naruto has had in his previous lives. If I do decide to have a pairing in this, it will be slash because I can't see my version of Naruto getting together with any of the women in the Narutoverse and I dislike using OCs beyond what is necessary** **for the background of my characters and what i on how I feel when I am writing this and since I only have an outline and a ton of notes done I'm not sure if it will happen. I will say this needed for the continuation of the plot. So. Is Naruto going to get together with Hidan at one point or another? Maybe. I don't know. It depends entirely though, if it does end up happening there will be nothing explicit and it will not become the focus of this story. Someone also asked if Naruto is Asura's incarnation in this and I'm going to say this. I will be ignoring** **the whole Kaguya thing for this fanfiction simply because its too much trouble to deal with and the incarnation thing doesn't** **mesh well with the reincarnation thing I have created. So neither Indra or Asura incarnated ever in this fic. When they died, they stayed dead.**

 **That is all! Enjoy and tell me what you think!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!**

 **...**

The moment that Mamoru opened his eyes and found himself inside an old temple, he knew that he had died. It wasn't all that hard to figure out, as the temple was the representation of his mindscape and he always ended up there whenever he died. He had gotten pretty old in this life too, passing the age of 100, unlike most shinobi. But that was beside the point. Mamoru knew that he had died, and so it meant that he had been reborn. Again.

Mamoru sighed and then stretched, reaching his arms up high before stuffing them in the sleeves of his kimono. He started to wander the halls of his mindscape as he wondered what he was going to do.

Mamoru's mindscape was beautiful, or at least it was in his opinion. It took the form of an old temple resting upon a mountain top. The season here was always spring so the garden behind the temple was always in full bloom. The wooden walls of the temple looked worn from time, but still held the appearance of being well taken care of. The library, symbolizing his memories, was full of books and scrolls that were all well organized and neat. The prayer hall was swept; as were the various guest rooms, bedrooms, living rooms, and empty rooms. The storage house just outside the temple was also organized and dust free, despite the interior hardly ever seeing the light of day.

Mamoru loved the shape that his mindscape took. It was elegant and reminded him very much of his first life, even if the beginning of that life hadn't been all that great. Temples had always held a special place in his heart, no matter how odd it might have been, considering how hesitant he had been to go anywhere near them shortly after his escape from the Jashinist Temple some three thousand years ago.

He remembered that Hidan had found his reluctance to go near temples hilarious, but had then helped him get over his fear. Hidan then became exasperated every time he had insisted that the two visit every temple they passed.

Mamoru looked upon that life fondly. Traveling with Hidan had been wonderful, even if doing so started to become more and more difficult as he grew older.

Mamoru turned a corner in his own personal temple and started heading towards the library. He figured that he could spend some time going over the fuinjutsu that he remembered from his time as Akahiko while he waited for whatever body he now resided in to get old enough for him to actually do things. Also, the Library would be where he would no doubt discover his new name.

But before Mamoru's plans to visit the Library could proceed any further, the entire temple shook with a great resounding boom. After the explosion, Mamoru stumbled over his initial step, then caught himself with all the grace of a man who had lived several lives as a shinobi. Mamoru looked around his Temple with worried eyes before stretching his senses out to see where whatever caused the disturbance within his mindscape could possibly reside. It was simple enough to find the disturbance - it was his mindscape after all - and he found it quickly. What he found was a large influx of chakra that was gathered towards the southern side of the temple.

Mamoru turned and started to make his way leisurely towards the disturbance. He didn't bother rushing. What was the point in doing so? He had at least another two years before he could do much of anything outside his mindscape and taking care of whatever the disturbance was would help pass the time until then.

Mamoru turned another corner and went down a short hallway he was certain never existed before, then found a door which he had never encountered in his countless trips exploring his mindscape. It wasn't a particularly interesting door. Just a plain paper sliding door, the same style as all the other doors in his mindscape. The peculiar thing about the door, though, was the pure hatred that bleed from behind it.

Well…

That and the fact that Mamoru was certain that it hadn't existed the last time that he had made a trip into his mindscape.

Mamoru stared at the door for a moment, debating whether to open it or not, then figured 'why not' and slid it open.

Stairs.

There were stairs.

Mamoru peered down the staircase from where he stood within the door frame and failed to see the bottom of the steps. As he continued staring down, Mamoru felt his eyebrows raise as the hatred he had sensed behind the door earlier seemed to intensify.

Now extremely curious and perhaps a tad happy that he wasn't bored anymore, Mamoru smiled to himself and made his way down the steps.

The staircase was long. Like, really really long. Mamoru had given up walking at one point or another, roughly 15 minutes of stair walking in with no bottom in sight, and started running down the steps. He had now been running for what seemed to be an eternity and he was getting sick and tired of the steps twisting this way and that in seemingly random intervals. It was frustrating and Mamoru was certain - even if it was impossible for stairs to do so - that they were mocking him. But Mamoru wanted to know what was at the bottom of the steps so he merely picked up his speed and practically flew down the steps. It was but a short while after that Mamoru finally reached the bottom, only to find another door was what the stairs lead to. This door was different than the last. It wasn't a sliding door, rather it was a large metal one that was filled with bolts and looked like something that someone had taken out of Ame's Capital.

Mamoru blinked at it, slightly thrown off by its appearance, before shrugging and opening to door to see what was on the other side.

What he stepped out to was a giant half flooded room.

What Mamoru meant when he said flooded wasn't that there was water running down the walls in waterfalls and that water was everywhere. No. He meant the floor of the room was simply a pool of water. It was almost completely still, slight ripples only appearing wherever droplets from the pipes running overhead walls of the room too looked wet.

The room itself was huge. Large enough that Mamoru could barely see the roof, let alone the back of the room. Dividing the room roughly in half and stretching from wall to wall was a large gate made of metal and wood, with the very center of the gate closed and a paper tag with the word 'SEAL' on it. The most notable thing about the room, however, was the mass of chakra and hatred that resided behind the bars.

Mamoru took a few steps forward into the room, barely noticing it when the large door that he had passed through slid shut behind him with a loud bang. Mamoru was far too busy walking towards the bars and the mass of chakra behind it.

Mamoru stopped a little ways in front of the cage and stared up at it, mind whirring with the possibilities of what it could be, before he noticed the shadows behind the bars shift.

A single giant red eye slid open and stared at him.

 **"A human?"** the being growled, it's deep and slightly scratchy voice echoing around in the spacious room, "What is a human doing here?"

Mamoru blinked at the creature, before smiling at him, "I should be the one to ask you that. This is my mindscape after all. Pray tell, what exactly were you doing within my mindscape in such a way that an entirely new room was created?"

The shadows shifted again before drawing back to reveal a giant fox with nine tails waving behind him lazily, **"Your mindscape? You must be mistaken. This can not possibly be your mindscape. I was sealed in but a babe after all, and you are no infant."**

Upon seeing the nine tailed beast, Mamoru's eyes widened. It wasn't out of fear or shock or something like that. Rather it was because Mamoru hadn't expected one of the tailed beasts to end up in his mindscape and was thus surprised. The Kyuubi's words, however, had caught his attention. He had said that he had been sealed within a babe, and Mamoru was a baby at this point in time. Physically at least.

Mamoru then smiled again up at the fox once more, "Ah, but that is where you are both right and wrong, Kurama. For I am a baby in body, just not in mind."

The fox stiffened when he heard his name being spoken by a stranger, then narrowed his eyes when he considered the man's words. He wished to respond and ask him what he meant by that, but he also wanted to know how a human he had never seen before now knew his name.

 **"How do you know that name?"** Almost as an afterthought he added, **"And what do you mean in body but not in mind?"**

"I know that name for one simple reason. Because once upon a time my name was Aoba and a man by the name of Hagoromo came and visited my house with his brother Hamura. That and Gyuuki informed me of all the tailed beasts' names when I visited him some lifetimes ago," Mamoru responded simply, "And I do believe that you know by now what I mean by in body but not in mind."

Kurama's eyes widened at the name Aoba, before a sort of grin stretched out across his features. The grin was all teeth, but held genuine amusement, and was held for but a moment before the fox began to laugh. He laughed at the hilarity of it all. Of the irony.

 **"Oh how fitting! To think that I would be sealed into the reincarnating man!"** Kurama said after he had laughed for a minute or so, **"At least I know that my host is strong and not so weak as to make me look bad. Perhaps introductions are in order?"**

Mamoru bowed slightly, smile still on his face, "Perhaps they are. Greetings, Kurama. I am unsure what my name is in this life, as I haven't had time to check just yet, but the tailed beasts know me as Aoba. That shall do until I head to the Library and check to see exactly what my new name is, yes?"

 **"It shall do for now. A pleasure to meet you, Aoba, I am Kurama, son of Otsutsuki Hagoromo, and the greatest of the tailed beasts. I hope that we will get along."**

"I hope for that as well, Kurama. Might I ask you a favor, though?" Mamoru asked, tilting his head to one side as he did so.

 **"Go ahead."** the beast responded with a lazy flick of one of his tails.

"Would you mind informing me what has happened since my last death? It would save me a great deal of work once I start moving again if you would be able to."

 **"Since your death? Alright, I can. When did you die?"**

"But a few years after Konoha was founded. Just shortly after Senju Hashirama was made Hokage." Mamoru responded.

Kurama nodded, **"Ah yes... Then it's been about fifty or so years since your death."**

"Fifty, you say? Well, it could be worse. What has happened since then?"

 **"Hmm... Where to begin? Perhaps I shall start with the betrayal of Madara... Yes, that seems like a good place to begin. It all began when Hashirama was named Hokage..."**

.

.

.

Mamoru was Naruto now, and it was something he was still getting used to even two years later. But that didn't matter all too much. He would get used to being Naruto soon enough. Right now, though, he was trying to sneak out.

The moment Naruto left his mindscape and started to interact with the people of the orphanage he had been dumped into, he noticed that perhaps his beginning in this life wasn't going to be all that great. He could see the hatred and the suspicion in the eyes of the many adults with whom he interacted with and it only seemed to get worse as he grew older.

 _Ah well…_ He mused, _At least no one has gotten physical… To borrow a line from my time as a Nara, that would be troublesome._

Naruto gathered a second set of clothing, one larger than the set that he wore now, and stuffed it inside a bag he had managed to swipe from one of the matrons. He was planning on shifting into Natsume so that he could get some anonymity, and since he hadn't gotten anything to be able to sew seals into his clothing to make them automatically change size, he would have to deal with changing his clothing with every shift.

With one more check around the outside to make sure that there wasn't anyone watching, Naruto channeled chakra to the bottom of his feet and climbed out the window. Making it to the branch of the tree next to his window wasn't hard for someone like him, and using the tree branches to get over the wall of the orphanage was child's play.

He hopped down to the ground, glanced around once more to make sure the coast was clear, then took off running to a near by alleyway. It was in the alleyway that he changed his clothes into the larger ones and shifted into Natsume.

Shifting was something that Naruto would be forever grateful for. It was something that had saved his life many times before and he dearly wished that he could have discovered his ability to do so far earlier in his life. It wasn't even all that difficult to do. He simply had to focus on his chakra and tweek it a bit and then he looked just like he had in one of his previous lives.

The downside of it all was that his clothing didn't shift with him, so if the form that he shifted into wasn't the same height as the one he was originally, he would have to change into a different set of clothes. That was also why he was eternally grateful that one of his lives had been spent as an Uzumaki and that he had learned the wonderful art of sealing. Sew some size adjusting seals into his clothing and voila! No more shifting problems. But even then, in his previous lives Naruto had gotten into the habit of always carrying around a scroll with extra clothing in various sizes sealed within. Once he had the funds for it, he would start doing so in this life as well.

Naruto had chosen to shift into Natsume for his first trip out into Konoha for a reason as well. His life as Natsume had ended early, he had died of starvation when he was but 7 years old. In addition, beyond the thin frame he had gotten from his harsh life on the streets in that incarnation, Natsume looked relatively plain. He had sandy brown hair that was short and just slightly spiky and the kind of face that most people would forget upon looking away. The only thing really interesting about his appearance was that his eyes were a curious shade of amber. It was with this appearance that Natsume took to the streets.

Natsume walked out among the crowds and looked up at all the buildings that had been built since his death. It looked a great deal different from what he remembered, as the village had just started when he died. But it was a wonderful change nonetheless. And the people! They all looked so lively and happy as they went about their days, moving from shop to shop. And Natsume was certain that he could see ninja hopping by on the roof tops and there was a genin team rushing to finish a D-rank just down the street. It was wonderful, and even better than what he had imagined it to be when a tiny child Hashirama, only just assigned to be his student, had first described it to him.

 _Yes,_ Natsume mused as he sidestepped a couple of children that were running past him to play, _this is a wonderful place._

.

.

.

Unfortunately, the Matrons of the orphanage seemed insistent that Naruto know he wasn't welcomed in this wonderful place. Naruto was 4 years old now, and since his first outing in his guise of Natsume he had made a great many more trips into the village. He had also managed to swipe enough money to buy a sealing kit, which he kept carefully hidden from the matrons' gazes, and had sewn the size adjusting seals into his clothing.

 _Ah, the ability to shift without worrying about clothing..._

But he digressed. The matrons of the orphanage all hated him and seemed convinced that he was going to do something evil the moment that they took their eyes off him. So they kept him as far away from the other children as they could, blamed him whenever possible, and ignored him the rest of the time. It was annoying and saddening because Naruto knew why they were acting like this, and it wasn't something he could change.

People feared the unknown and what was a jinchuriki, if not an unknown?

Hashirama had better count himself lucky that he wasn't alive when he found out that it was because of him and his wife that all the Bijuu had been sealed.

 _(In the afterlife, Hashirama felt a shiver go down his spine._

 _"Something the matter, brother?" Tobirama asked with a raised eyebrow._

 _"No. Nothing. I just got an odd feeling for a moment there is all. Like someone was cursing me in my grave..." Hashirama got a distant look in his eyes.)_

But enough was enough, and now he was being kicked out of the orphanage because a fire had started in the kitchen. It was unfair and unreasonable that he would be blamed for starting the fire when any sane person could see that it wasn't possible for him to have started it. But that didn't matter to them, because it was an excuse to get him out of their hair and away from the orphanage. So they made him pack his bags and gave him to the Hokage, who simply sighed at the unreasonableness of the matrons.

It was then that the Hokage smiled at him and snapped him out of his thoughts by speaking.

"Are you alright, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded, "Yes. I'm fine, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage nodded his head and kept smiling at him, "That's good. Do know that if things like this ever bother you, you can come to me and talk with me about it, alright?"

Huh. That was nice. And definitely not unwelcome. It seemed that Sarutobi Hiruzen was a nice man, even if the offer probably had something to do with Naruto being the son of the man's successor. Ah well... At least he had an ally in the Hokage.

"Alright, sir. Thank you." Naruto responded.

The Hokage then turned and started sifting through some papers, "Well then, lets set you up with a new place to live, shall we?"

Eventually the Hokage had gotten him a small single-bedroom apartment and had assigned someone to come check in on him every couple of days until it was certain that Naruto could take care of himself. The woman who would check up on him would be the one to pay the bills, buy groceries, do laundry, perform other household chores and would teach Naruto how to do it all so that in a few years time he would be able to do it all on his own. Of course, Naruto didn't need to be taught how to do that but none of them knew this was his eighteenth time growing up, so he let them do as they wished. He would be independent soon enough.

The good thing about getting his own apartment was that he would be getting a monthly allowance to purchase food, toys and the like, which meant that Naruto wouldn't have to steal anything in order to get the things he wanted. It wasn't that Naruto didn't like to steal. He had lived several lives as a ninja, and while he liked to think himself morally just, he wasn't above stealing to get the things he needed. There was more to it than that. Stealing everything was such a hassle and he had to hide the things he bought lest people questioned where he got them. It was troublesome, and now he didn't have to deal with all that since he actually had money to buy things with.

For now though, he had to get settled into his new apartment. And after all the hard work was done, he wanted to go exploring again.


	3. Chapter 2 - In which Itachi is confused

The fifth life that Naruto had lived was one as Uchiha Fuzen. He still considered that life an irony, since the Uchiha had been the enemies of the Senju - one of whom had been his best student. But despite the irony of being born into what young Senju Giri would consider an enemy clan, he had still had fun within that family. They had their faults, they were typically arrogant and had a tendency towards being emotionally stunted, but there wasn't a clan alive that didn't have its faults. He had made a great many friends in that life and he missed them dearly even to this day.

In his last life as Senju Mamoru, Naruto had been extremely happy that Hashirama had managed to get the Uchiha to sign an alliance with them and that they started to build this village together. To be able to see the descendants of his friends, to talk and befriend them was like a dream come true, even if many of the Uchiha that he met were very wary of their former enemies.

Kurama had told him that after Madara left the village and later came back to try and 'exact his revenge' with Kurama in tow, Tobirama had isolated the Uchiha because of his suspicions of betrayal. Naruto was worried about how the clan would have taken this obvious scorn, so now that Naruto was at least semi-free from the eyes of the public, he made the decision to change into his Fuzen form and pay the Uchiha a visit.

It was easy to buy a black high collared shirt and pants that looked similar to the ones Uchiha children typically wore. On top of that, with the skills that he had picked up during his time as a housewife, it was easy to sew the Uchiha crest onto the shirt. Once the outfit was done and he shifted into Fuzen, he donned the outfit.

His shifting ability really was amazing. He typically had three options when shifting. He could shift into what he looked like when he died, what he looked like when he was roughly in his late twenties, or shift into how he looked at whatever age he happened to be now. When sneaking into the Uchiha compound, he used the last one.

As Uchiha Fuzen, he looked like a typical Uchiha. His hair was cut to a bit longer than chin length and most of it was pulled back into a ponytail, leaving some of his hair free to frame his face. His eyes were the typical Uchiha coal black, and his skin was just as pale as the rest of the clan's.

Sneaking into the compound was easier than he thought it would be, considering how paranoid ninjas tended to be, but Fuzen was glad that he wouldn't have to go through a huge hassle in order to get into the compound. Once he was inside he simply blended in with the rest of the Uchiha there and made his way along the streets. He started to explore the compound, glad to see that many of the clan members looked happy by Uchiha standards. He did see a tenseness among some of the adults, but it was possible that it was from a mission or personal problems. It wasn't widespread enough that Fuzen would consider it a problem.

He made his way towards the edge of the compound again, intending to leave now that he was satisfied that the Uchiha weren't going to go mad within a moments notice. It was as he was passing through the Uchiha's personal training grounds near the edge of the compound that he heard the sound of a kunai hitting a board and decided to take a look at who was there.

It was a boy, a small one, maybe four or five years of age with typical Uchiha features. He even had the curse that showed up among some of the clan where the hair seemed to stick up incessantly in the back making it look a bit like a duck's butt.

And people wonder why the Uchiha often have long hair. How else are we to escape the curse?

The boy's face was a bit red as he threw more kunai at the targets, clearly having been training for a long time. He wasn't doing it quite right, Fuzen noticed, but he was doing better than most would have at his age.

It was then that Fuzen made a decision. He made his way out of hiding spot and smiled at the boy, "You should flick your wrist a bit more. You're relying a bit too much on your arm."

The boy huffed, looking a bit annoyed at the criticism, but complied anyways with his next throw and was surprised to see that he hit the center of the target.

"It worked..." the boy murmured, looking surprised

"Well of course it did! I said it would, didn't I?" Fuzen grinned at the boy, "My name's Fuzen. Who're you?"

"Sasuke," the now named Sasuke responded, "How'd you know that? Are you a shinobi? You look my age."

"I'm sort of a shinobi. I'm a bit of a weird case," admitted Fuzen, "But that doesn't mean I don't know how to be one. I could show you a thing or two if you wish."

"Really?!"

"Yup!"

.

.

.

Uchiha Itachi was a pacifist. That was something he knew and was alright with, even if anyone who had never met him would never believe he was one. He was simply too talented in the shinobi arts for anyone to think that perhaps - just perhaps - he hated violence. He just wished for peace, and that desire stemmed from an incident a few years ago that left him, according to his mother, traumatized. But even if he was a pacifist, the village would never let him act like one. He was a clan heir, of the Uchiha no less, and was a genius prodigy of the likes that hadn't been seen since Hatake Kakashi.

So Itachi put up a front, a cool mask that stared out at the world with all its bloodshed and violence with indifference. There was only one thing that could break that mask.

Itachi loved his little brother. His precious otouto. He meant the world to him and Itachi would do anything to protect him.

That was why, when Itachi saw Sasuke playing with an Uchiha child that he had never seen before, he naturally became curious. Not only because he had never seen the boy, which was odd in itself because Itachi made a point of trying to remember everyone's names and faces, but also because Sasuke was smiling as the two played.

It was something that had always bothered Itachi, his brother's reluctance to play with anyone other than himself. It worried him that his brother always insisted that he "only needed nii-san!" But now Sasuke was playing with another boy his age and didn't look to be complaining one bit.

It made Itachi smile, and want to frown at the same time.

Who was the child?

Itachi wanted to find out.

.

.

.

Itachi knocked on his little brother's door before sliding it open.

"Nii-san!" came the immediate greeting before Sasuke promptly tackled him into a hug.

Itachi smiled down at him and rubbed the boy's head.

"Hello Sasuke. How was your day?" He asked.

"It was great! I met an Uchiha a while ago and today he showed me some tricks with shuriken!" Sasuke smiled up at his brother.

Shuriken? But the boy was Sasuke's age. He couldn't have been older than six or seven. If there was an Uchiha so young who was proficient at the Shinobi arts, surely it would have become known to the clan by this point. Right?

"You did? Was that the boy I saw you with earlier today?" at Sasuke's nod Itachi continued, "What was his name?"

"He said it was Fuzen!"

Sinful. Fuzen meant sinful. How odd that someone would name their child sinful.

"I am glad you had fun, otouto. Might I meet him sometime?"

"You mean you would come train with us?" Sasuke's eyes went wide and hopeful and Itachi couldn't help but smile again at his brother.

"Yes. I'll come train with you."

.

.

.

Nothing. There was nothing.

After the meeting with Sasuke, Itachi had gone and looked for an Uchiha Fuzen. There was no mention of an Uchiha Fuzen anywhere in recent archives, which meant that the boy had either not given his real name for some reason, or was some kind of spy.

But that didn't make any sense either. As far as he was aware the boy hadn't done much more than play with Sasuke. Was it a ploy to get close to a member of the main house in order to get information? But that didn't make any sense either. Not only was Sasuke not the heir, but he was also much too young to have any kind of access to clan archives just yet. So what was the motive? Itachi didn't know. But he would find out.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"So you're Uchiha Fuzen?" Sasuke's older brother asked him.

Naruto had once again shifted into Fuzen and made his way into the Uchiha compound to play with Sasuke again. He had quickly grown fond of the small boy in the three or so years since he had first met him and made it a habit to show up at least once every other day unless circumstances prevented it. He had made it a point to be stealthy for the most part, which just meant not doing anything majorly crazy that would lead to an inquiry on who he was, but he hadn't made sure not to be seen at all. Because of this, it was no surprise that the elder brother Sasuke so clearly adored had found out his name. In all likelihood, Sasuke himself had told him. It should have been fine, since Fuzen hadn't done anything other than play with Sasuke, but the suspicious glint that only a person as well trained as himself would be able to see that made its home in the physically older Uchiha's eyes told him otherwise.

Fuzen wondered where he had messed up...

"I am." Fuzen responded, "And you're Sasuke's nii-san?"

Itachi nodded, eyes never leaving Fuzen's face as he did so, "I am... may I have a word with you for a moment? Alone, Sasuke."

Sasuke then looked dejected and pouted at his older brother in a absolutely adorable way.

"I'm fine with that." Fuzen said. Might as well get this over with.

Fuzen and Itachi started walking a little ways away from Sasuke, who went back to practicing the kunai trick that Fuzen had shown him the other day. It was only once the boy was out of earshot that Itachi began.

"Who are you really?"

And that was quite the question, wasn't it? He was a great many people, and Fuzen had no doubt that he would be a great many more people in the future. He wondered how much he should tell the boy. From what he had seen of him around Konoha and heard from Sasuke, the boy was someone that Fuzen was certain he could come to respect one day. Both his potential in the shinobi arts and the gentleness that he showed when he was around Sasuke made Fuzen suspect that he would one day help bring about a change to the world. Like Hashirama and Madara once did. After a moment of thought, he decided to throw the Uchiha a bone and see what the boy would do with it. Perhaps he would even become an ally in later times. One could never be too sure.

"Thats debatable," Fuzen finally responded, smiling as he looked up at Itachi, "I am many people. But I really am Uchiha Fuzen, if that is what you are asking."

Itachi tilted his head a bit, an action not unlike a bird, before continuing with his interrogation, "I found no mention of you in recent records."

Fuzen looked up at the sky, "And that was where you made your mistake. There are no mentions of me in recent records. Who's to say I don't exist among the old ones?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at him, "Are you implying that you are a ghost of sorts?"

Fuzen smiled in amusement, "No. Nothing like that. I am very much alive, as you can see. I'm just in a very unique situation."

"Unique situation?"

"Yes."

Itachi tilted his head again, his onyx eyes staring into Fuzen for what seemed like an eternity before finally looking away and continuing on.

"What are your intentions with Sasuke?"

"Am I not allowed to have a friend?" Fuzen raised an amused eyebrow at Itachi.

"That is not all, is it? You are after something."

Fuzen laughed softly and shook his head, "Ah, shinobi... they're always such a suspicious lot. 'Looking Underneath the Underneath'. But you have to learn that sometimes there is no underneath at all. I am playing with Sasuke because I am lonely, no reason other than that."

Itachi watched Fuzen for a while longer, before seeming to accept the explanation, and turning back to Sasuke.

"Sasuke." Itachi called.

Sasuke stopped what he was doing turned to look at Itachi with a questioning look.

"I have to take my leave now. There are certain things I am required to do today that I can't put off any longer."

"Ehhh?" Sasuke pouted, "Do you have to leave already? Can't you stay a little longer?"

Itachi motioned with his hand for Sasuke to come closer, to which the boy complied. Itachi poked Sasuke in the forehead and smiled at him, "Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe next time."

Sasuke pouted and rubbed the spot on his forehead where he was poked, "Alright..."

"Don't worry about it Sasuke! I'm here, aren't I?" Fuzen reminded, "We can train all you'd like together."

Sasuke smiled again, "Okay! Bye nii-san! Take care!"

"Ah, I will. Farewell, otouto." Then Itachi left, disappearing into the trees to go off and do whatever it was he needed done.

.

.

.

The rest of the day had proceeded much like all his other trips into the Uchiha compound. Sasuke and Naruto played, which Sasuke insisted was training, before someone would come along and retrieve Sasuke. Fuzen would then leave the compound, shift back into Naruto after changing clothing, and head home as well.

It was as he was heading home that Naruto decided to do things a little differently and made his way through the market to return to his apartment instead of going the long way around to avoid the bulk of the civilian crowds.

Naruto began meandering along the sides of the streets in the marketplace. He generally avoided people's' gazes, but he kept an eye out among the stalls for anything interesting on sale. He might end up going back a bit later in a different form to buy it.

That was when a civilian purposefully bumped into him. Naruto fell to the ground, because a boy his supposed age wouldn't have been able to stand upright, and looked up just in time to see the man sneer at him, "What are you doing here, brat?"

"Going home." Naruto responded as he picked himself up and brushed the dirt off his shorts.

He then went around the civilian and ducked out of the man's reach when the man tried to grab for him. He ran away from the man, ducking and weaving with ease between people, and as he did so he thought to himself about how tiring it was to do this.

The citizens of Konoha hated him. Civilians didn't understand sealing, and so they thought of him as Kurama. Even the shinobi, who all knew the difference between a boy and a tailed beast, were overwhelmed by the grief of losing loved ones on the day of the attack and needed someone to blame and bear their anger and sorrow. So he became the center of their hatred. It was irrational, but still so totally, completely, utterly human that Naruto couldn't blame them. As much as he hated their treatment and neglect, he understood humans after all the time that he had lived. It didn't mean that he didn't hate the treatment. He really did. It was awful of the people to treat a - what they perceived as anyway - child that way for something said child had absolutely no control over.

It saddened him, really.

It also made him consider leaving.

 _Maybe I should travel again. I heard that after Hashirama had set up Konoha, many of the other countries did the same. I want to see what has changed about the world since the last time I traversed it._

But he wouldn't, at least not right at this moment. Not right away. He had to think about the academy, which he had started a little over a year ago, and about Sasuke. He didn't really want to leave the boy alone, especially after he had seen the tenseness among the adults of the clan increase. He suspected that something big was brewing under all that broadcasted normality, but he had no way of knowing exactly what it was.

No matter. The fact was he had to stay, even if the academy was mind numbingly boring and most of the adults of the population hated him.

.

.

.

 _Uchiha Fuzen. Son of Uchiha Mia and Uchiha Masato. Died age thirty four in an ambush._

Itachi had found an Uchiha Fuzen. There was only one recorded Uchiha Fuzen, no matter how unlikely that sounded. And that one Uchiha Fuzen was in the records of the clan over two thousand six hundred years ago. It was impossible, and completely insane.

But it existed. _Uchiha Fuzen_ existed.

 _"I'm just in a very unique situation."_

That was what the boy had said. It didn't make any sense, none at all. How was it possible that an Uchiha Fuzen, who had died at thirty four in an ambush over two thousand six hundred years ago, was here?

In the clan compound. Looking like he was seven.

I need more information.

.

.

.

Naruto was once again Fuzen as he dropped into the clearing he and Sasuke always met at. He was surprised when, instead of the adorable seven year old he had been expecting, Itachi was the one in the clearing.

"He's at home," Itachi said, as if sensing Fuzen's confusion, "And I have questions for you."

Fuzen tilted his head to one side, "Fire away."

"Uchiha Fuzen lived over two thousand six hundred years ago. How is it possible that you are standing here before me today?"

Fuzen smiled, "That is the question isn't it?"

Itachi's mouth twitched when Fuzen didn't respond to the question he asked, but instead of commenting he continued on.

"Can you prove that you are the Uchiha Fuzen from then?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'prove'. I can tell you all manner of things about myself that only 'Uchiha Fuzen' would know, but you wouldn't know any of those things to be able to discern that I'm telling the truth. So how do I provide proof? I can prove to you that I am an Uchiha." At this he activated his Sharingan. The three tomoe swirled lazily in his eyes as he continued to watch Itachi, "But that I am Uchiha Fuzen? Hmmm…. there is perhaps the things that would have been recorded after my death. Things like who my parents were, what age I died, and how I died. But there is always the chance that I somehow snuck in and read those myself, aren't there? But I'll tell you anyway. My mother's name was Mia. My father's name was Masato. I died when I was thirty four, in an ambush by the Hyuuga. One got lucky, went through my guard, and struck the tenketsu around my heart, killing me instantly. There, that is all that I can offer as proof, but whether or not you believe me is up to you."

After that, Fuzen deactivated his eyes. It was difficult to activate his Sharingan in any form other than adult Fuzen. He could force it, but the drain on his chakra was huge and he had to consciously keep it active. It became easier once he was eleven, as that was the age in which he had first activated the Sharingan, but even then it was a pain to hold unless he was Fuzen.

Itachi on the other hand had become wide eyed as Fuzen spoke. He started at Fuzen for a while longer, and Fuzen could practically see the thoughts whirling around in the boy's mind.

"Any other questions?" Fuzen prompted.

Itachi blinked, seeming to snap out of whatever trance he was in, before smiling slightly, "No. Just a request."

"A request?"

"Hai. Protect Sasuke. Please."

The look in Itachi's eyes stopped Fuzen for a moment.

They were tired. Very tired. And looked pained as well.

Fuzen frowned, but nodded, "I will. I was intending to do that anyway. He is a rather sweet boy and has grown on me over the period of time I've spent with him." He paused before looking Itachi straight in the eye, "You too. Look after yourself and if you ever need anything, come to me. I'll see if I can help."

Itachi's eyes flashed for a moment, before nodding in understanding.

Fuzen sighed and kicked the ground, "I'm going to leave. If Sasuke isn't coming then there are other things I should do."

With that, he left.

.

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.

 **AN: Hello there! Thank you again for all the positive feedback! Here I have chapter 2 of the 18th life. I wanted to clarify Naruto's ability with the Sharingan, because I don't think that I explained it very well in the chapter. Naruto can use the sharingan in any form. It is something that he found out in the life after his life as Fuzen. However, it is very difficult to hold unless he meets certain requirements. One is his age. He was 11 when he activated the sharingan when he was Fuzen. Due to this, it becomes easier to maintain if his physical form is older than 11. The other his his physical form. The Sharingan in an Uchiha bloodline and while people outside the Uchiha bloodline can use and control it, like Kakashi, they can never use it to its full extent with the ease that an actual Uchiha would use it. So if he is in his form as Fuzen, and said form is older than 11, then he can use his sharingan easily. He doesn't even have to think about it to be able to use it. In any other form though, he must consciously keep the sharingan active, making him have to split his attention between the sharingan and whatever else is happening around him. This makes it difficult to use in a fight, so unless he is in his adult Fuzen form he won't use it very often. I also want to mention that while he does have all three tomoe, he does not have the mangekyo. I made it this way to tone down the OPness that Naruto already has in this fic. This isn't a Godlike!Naruto fic. I am making him strong, yes. He is waaay stronger than anyone his age and has a ton more knowledge than most people. However, he will make mistakes, lose fights, and get beaten up at times. If you don't like that, feel free to hit the back button and leave. If you do, then I'm glad and I hope you'll stick with me.**

 **Another thing I want to address briefly is the timeline. In this fic, its been about 3 thousand years since the Sage of Six Paths was alive. I don't have an exact timeline for when Fuzen lived all his lives, rather I just have brief estimations. So don't expect any exact numbers when I'm referencing when his precious lives took place.**

 **Finial announcement before I end this! (Because this AN has gone on long enough) I seriously need a beta for this fic. Both to help out with grammar and sentence structure, but also help me out when I'm writing fight scenes. I can't write fight scenes for shit. Like seriously. I can pretty much say 'He threw a kunai at his opponent' and that's it. Unless I can get someone to help me out in said area, I'll be avoiding fight scenes as much as possible. If any of you are up for it, leave a comment in a Review or PM me. I'd love to have you.**

 **Bye bye! Thanks for reading. Leave a review on your way out.**


	4. Chapter 3 - Stories over a Camp Fire

Naruto woke up in the morning with a bad feeling.

He couldn't explain it, not really. It was just a sinking feeling in his gut, telling him that something was going to go horribly wrong today. So before he left his meager apartment, he grabbed a scroll with all the weapons he had gathered during this life and kept it on his person.

You can never be too careful in this day and age.

Then, after eating breakfast and changing into a pair of black pants and a plain grey T-shirt with mesh underneath (all with size changing seals on, of course), he left his apartment and headed to the academy. His day at school went as per normal. The teachers still droned on and on about chakra, history, tactics, and various other subjects and the only vaguely interesting part of the lesson plan that day was the sparring session. It was interesting for Naruto to see the many styles of the various clans of Konoha being put to use. Of course, he could spot half a million holes in all their fights but they were young and hadn't been fully trained yet and it made the sparring portion of the day more amusing than anything.

When the bell rang for the academy to be let out, Naruto headed home without incident. It was calm, and quiet even. And it unnerved him. He could feel danger prickling on the edge of his mind and it just didn't sit well with him.

When he went to bed that day, the bad feeling still hadn't gone away.

.

.

.

It wasn't until the next morning that he found out why.

 _"Did you hear? The entire Uchiha clan was killed last night. They say there was only a single survivor."_

Naruto had then shifted into another one of his forms and immediately started gathering information.

What he found left him feeling empty.

Itachi had supposedly snapped and killed the entire clan in a single night. The only survivor was Sasuke, who is currently in the hospital and completely unresponsive due to shock. Itachi had since been labeled an S-class missing nin and was currently on the run.

Naruto knew all this now, but it still didn't make any sense to him. Itachi was a pacifist, that was something Naruto could tell after having met the teen several times. He also loved his family, especially his younger brother, and Naruto was having a difficult time believing that Itachi would simply snap and kill his entire clan. Naruto was centuries old, and all that experience accumulated over lifetimes were not just for show. He knew the signs of a shinobi close to snapping. So Naruto made a decision. He would confront Sasuke about what happened in the Massacre and come to his own decisions about what truly occurred.

He had a feeling that not everything was as it seemed.

.

.

.

It took two weeks before Sasuke was finally released from the hospital. The day the boy was freed and sent back to the Uchiha Compound, Naruto shifted into Fuzen and confronted his friend.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke whipped around at the sound of a familiar voice, and his eyes widened when he saw Fuzen.

"F-Fuzen...?" He said, his voice wavering and full of disbelief, "You're a-alive?"

"I am. I suppose I escaped the massacre because I was not there that night. I don't live in the compound, you see, and I didn't go to see you that day," Fuzen paused for a moment and took in Sasuke's expression before continuing, "Perhaps I should have, though. Maybe then I would have been able to stop some of this."

Sasuke still didn't respond, continuing to just stare at Fuzen like he was some kind of ghost.

Fuzen's expression softened and he opened his arms wide in an invitation, "Sasuke. It's okay. You're not alone. I'm here."

That seemed to break the dam as tears strung up in Sasuke's eyes and he ran forward and held onto Fuzen like he was the last thing alive in the world.

 _And in a way that is true_ , Fuzen supposed as he held the crying boy. _I'm the only family he has left, considering Itachi is on the run and the rest are dead._

When Sasuke finally stopped crying, Fuzen spoke up again.

"Sasuke. Can you tell me what happened that night?"

Sasuke stiffened in his arms, then backed away. His face filled up with anger and sadness as he nodded.

"What happened?"

"I was... I was heading home from the academy. It was then I saw there weren't any guards at the gates. And when I went inside, no one was out on the streets. I thought it was weird, because people are always out on the streets. That was when I found them. T-the b-bo-" The word caught in Sasuke's throat and he gritted his teeth before continuing, "I ran home. I had to make sure Okaa-san and Otou-san were alright. But when I arrived-" He stopped again, images of his parent's corpses on the floor and his brother's cruel words flashing in his mind.

 _"Foolish little brother."_

"They were dead," Sasuke managed to say, "They were dead. That's when nii-s-. That's when _that man_ came out. He told me he killed them. He told me that he killed them all. To test how strong he was. Then he told me to-"

 _"If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me... and survive in an unsightly way. Run. Run and cling to life. And only when you have the same eyes as me, shall you come before me and kill me."_

"-to hate him and get stronger. To get revenge."

Sasuke fell into silence and Fuzen bit his bottom lip as he thought, "There is something more going on here."

Sasuke looked up at Fuzen sharply, "W-what?"

"Think, Sasuke. Has Itachi ever shown signs of doing something like this in the past? The Itachi I met would never do something like this unless there were rather extreme circumstances forcing him to do so. Everything is not as it seems here."

Sasuke stared at Fuzen with wide eyes. It seemed he was doing that a lot since Fuzen had shown up.

Fuzen mentally went over everything he had learned, then came to a decision. He just hoped it was the right one.

"Sasuke. I have to tell you something. I need you to listen to me the entire way through, because otherwise this isn't going to make any sense. Understand?"

Sasuke nodded and Fuzen took a deep breath and started talking.

"I don't know when I was born. All I know was that I was born the son of a priest. The head of a Jashinist Temple, to be exact. The name they gave me was Daichiro. I don't remember much from when I was little. Most of my memories of the time consist of reading old scrolls in the Library where they had me sleep by the soft glow of candlelight, the priests of the Temple leading me down dark corridors, and the soft chatter of voices sounding in my head. I was born with a special ability, you see. The ability to speak with beings not on this plane. In other words, I was able to speak with Gods. Because of this, most of the priests of the Temple wanted to keep me there. They never wanted me to leave, and because of that they locked me away. I say most because there was one priest there who wasn't like the others. His name was Hidan. When I was thirteen, Hidan broke me out of the temple. He attacked the priests that guarded me and carried me out of the Temple on his back. He fought and fought and fought and finally we escaped. I was thirteen the first time I saw the sky, you know. The only thing I could think about when I saw it was how blue it was. How vast and beautiful it was. For someone who had never had more than descriptions of the world from a single man's stories and books read by candlelight, it was the most beautiful thing in the world."

Fuzen paused, smiling at the memories, and could tell that Sasuke was getting more and more confused by the moment. But Fuzen continued onward, because he wasn't finished yet.

"Hidan and I started traveling. We walked the roads and went from country to country. I loved traveling with him. I got to see so many new and wonderful things. I got to meet so many new people. It was a good life. I know that. But all good things must come to an end. You see, Hidan didn't age. The God that Hidan worshiped, Jashin, favored Hidan. And so the God blessed him with immortality. He would heal from any wound, never be able to die, and never age. I, on the other hand, never received such a gift. So eventually, I grew old. And eventually, I died. Except, I didn't stay dead. I woke up in my mindscape with no idea how I got there, and found out I had been reborn. Since then, I have been reborn many times. The life I'm living now is my eighteenth life. In my current life, I was born as Uzumaki Naruto."

At this, Fuzen let go of his transformation and shifted back into Naruto. He could see Sasuke's eyes widen to an almost impossible size once more, and smiled again.

"I wasn't lying when I said that I was Uchiha Fuzen, though. I was born into the Uchiha clan in my fifth life, waaay back when Ninjutsu had only just been created. The reason I was able to look like I did when I was Fuzen was because in my fourteenth life I discovered that I am able to take on the forms of the bodies that I've had in my previous lives. This means I can become Fuzen anytime I want. I can become any of the people I've been reborn as. But that's getting off topic... Due to something that happened when I was born most of the villagers here dislike me. Because of that I don't get treated the best and I started wondering if I should leave and start traveling, but I've been holding off on doing so because I managed to make a friend in you. Now that you're not being held here, I want to ask you something. Would you like to go traveling with me? I'll teach you whatever you want along the way, and when we run into Itachi we can get the truth about the massacre out of him. What do you say?"

Sasuke was quiet for a while, various emotions flashing across his face, before he finally nodded, determination shining in his eyes, "Alright. I'll go with you," then he smiled slightly, "Where do we go first?"

Naruto grinned back, "Well thats what we'll have to figure out, isn't it?"

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It took a little over a year before Sasuke and Naruto were ready to leave Konoha. They had packed everything they would need in various scrolls that Naruto made, and had made an escape plan based off what the two had observed about Konoha's security. During that time, the two continued to go to the academy as they usually did, and Naruto helped Sasuke out whenever he needed to escape fangirls and the like.

It was when Naruto and Sasuke were both nine that the two were finally ready to leave.

Everything was packed. Plans had been made. All that was left to do was to actually go.

"Ready to go?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke adjusted his backpack and nodded. He was wearing simple traveler's clothing and was wearing a physical henge Naruto had shown him over his face to hide his Uchiha features. He still had black hair and pale skin, but his eyes had been turned green and his bone structure had been shifted just enough that he didn't look like Sasuke.

Naruto, on the other hand, simply shifted into Eiji.

Eiji, when he was in his twenties, had long black hair that he let fall freely half-way down his back, pale skin, and bright green eyes. He looked vaguely noble, mostly because Eiji had been born as the second son of a noble, but still looked kind. Naruto then changed into similar traveling clothes to Sasuke, and the two were on their way. They walked through the streets of Konoha, taking one last look at the village, before stopping at the gates to sign out using the fake names they had decided upon.

After that, they simply walked out the gates and were on their way. Once they were far enough away from the gates that they wouldn't be heard or seen, Sasuke let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

He started laughing and grinned (as much as an Uchiha would grin) up at Eiji, "I can't believe that worked! I was so sure they were going to catch us!"

"Have ye so little faith in me?" Asked Eiji, "I've done things like that half a million times before. Its not too difficult. Now enough chatter, we're off to Suna!"

While the two had been planning for the trip, Naruto and Sasuke had come to the decision that they wanted to check in on the other Jinchuriki. He had told Sasuke exactly why the villagers disliked Naruto, and after a thorough explanation on the tailed beasts, fuinjutsu, and human psychology, Sasuke had accepted both Naruto's 'condition' and Kuruma wholeheartedly. The two wanted to check in on the other Jinchuriki to make sure that they weren't being treated like Naruto, or worse. They intended to extend the offer to travel with them to any Jinchuriki they managed to find. However, this task was easier said than done as neither of them had any solid idea of exactly where and who the Jinchuuriki were. The only confirmed place the two of them knew a bijuu resided in was Kumo and Suna. Kumo, because Kurama had heard through Kushina that at least one Jinchuriki resided there, and Suna because they had been holding onto Shukaku for over a hundred years.

So the decision was made to go to Suna first and to then eventually make their way over to Kumo.

And so to Suna they went.

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Going to Suna was an interesting affair to say the least. They made frequent stops in various places to both rest and to start Sasuke's training. Sasuke had requested to be taught as much about Ninjutsu as Naruto could teach him. Naruto agreed to do so.

Naruto had also taken to telling Sasuke stories about his previous lives. Because they were heading to Suna first, Naruto focused mainly on his life as Junpei.

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"So Shukaku recognized you?" Sasuke asked one night while the two sat around a fire.

Naruto nodded and stirred the pot that held the food they were going to eat. They would be crossing over into the desert the next day, and Naruto needed to seal away a lot of food in a preservation seal so that they wouldn't need to catch anything while crossing the desert. It didn't matter if they were intending to catch a ride with the caravans, they would still need food.

"Yup! It was amazing, you know. Watching him as he moved the desert dunes. They shifted so easily to his will and swirled around him as he laughed. The others in the tribe were all terrified. They were convinced that Shukaku was going to kill them. My grandmother at the time was mumbling prayers under her breath, begging every deity she knew of to allow her and I to live. Then all of the sudden Shukaku stopped and saw me. He then laughed again and shouted out, "Aoba! Say your thanks to Aoba that I do not kill you! It is in Aoba's memory that I let you live!" No one knew what he meant, but I did. I was Aoba after all."

"Thats so cool! What happened after that?" Sasuke's eyes were sparkling.

"Well after that…"

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They finally arrived in Suna but a week after.

"Papers?"

Eiji handed the gate guard his and Sasuke's papers. The chunin looked them over before handing them back and nodding, "Everything seems to be in order. Stay out of trouble and enjoy your stay."

Eiji nodded and put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder to direct him into the village. They started walking down the main street and took a look around the village.

"Its very different from Konoha," said Sasuke as he stared at the people moving from building to building.

And the village was very different. The houses were made to withstand sandstorms. The roofs were often rounded, there wasn't a whole lot of paint or bright colors. The people were different too. They were worn in a way, like the stone that was used to build the buildings. They were quieter too, not as loud as the citizens of Konoha, but were no less happy.

"Indeed it is. Sasuke? I'm going to go and find us a place to stay. You go ahead and start looking around. Be sure to stay out of trouble and I'll meet you back here in a few hours, alright?" Eiji looked down at Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded absentmindedly before walking off to go explore.

Sasuke stuck his hands in his pockets as he wandered and let his eyes go towards the crowds of children in a part of sorts that he passed. His eyes passed over a little boy with his parents, then immediately skipped it.

 _Don't think about it. Don't think about it._

 _"Foolish little brother."_

 _"If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me..."_

His mouth settled in a grim line as he kept walking. It was difficult to stop seeing the faces of his parents when he was alone. It was easier when Naruto was there, because the man had taken too distracting Sasuke whenever his thoughts went down a too dark path. It was interesting, hearing about the man's previous lives that was. Naruto had met so many interesting figures and seen so many things, it seemed as if the stories that Naruto had to tell would never run out.

"No! Please! DON'T!"

Sasuke turned to see where the plea for help had come from, only to see a middle aged man on the ground, crawling backwards and away from a boy. The boy had red hair and a gourd across his back, and his eyes were a teal green color. He had the kanji for 'Love' carved into his forehead.

Sand swirled around the boy, then snaked outwards and wrapped around the man's ankle. The man seemed to pale drastically, making rather pathetic sounding whimpering noises as sand started to slowly wrap around his leg, slithering menacingly upwards.

"Mother wants your blood."

The boy seemed to whisper before sand suddenly swarmed up and swallowed the man whole.

 _"Sand coffin."_

There was a scream, before the sand constricted and blood started to soak it and drip to the ground.

Sasuke stood frozen as he watched the boy, a boy his age nonetheless, casually and easily kill a man. His breath caught in his throat and he felt sick in his stomach, his mind flashing back to the night of the massacre, before he turned and walked away as quickly as he could while still seeming casual.

He made his way back to the place that Naruto had said they would meet up and took a seat near one of the walls. He didn't care that he was early. He didn't feel like exploring anymore.

It wasn't until a little while later that Naruto came back, still in the form of Eiji. The two had come to the collective decision to stick with Eiji when the two needed to go somewhere and act as if they were related, due to the fact that besides Fuzen (who was obviously Uchiha) Eiji was the closest in appearance to Sasuke.

The moment that Naruto, or Eiji, Sasuke supposed, came back, the man got a worried expression in his eyes.

"Sasuke? Did something happen?"

Sasuke stood up and nodded grimly, "There was a boy. He killed a person with sand."

Eiji's eyes flashed once before briefly scanning the streets, as if he could spot the boy within the crowd, "What did he look like?"

"Red hair, teal green eyes. Kanji for 'Love' on his forehead. He had a large gourd on his back." Sasuke said, thinking back to the boy.

Eiji smiled at Sasuke, "I think you might have found our guy then. Kurama told me that Shukaku has the habit of driving his hosts insane, and the sand is a dead give away. I'll have the check to be sure, but I'm almost certain that it is him. Can you take me to where you saw him?"

"Hn."

Eiji's lips quirked up in a smile at the response before following him as Sasuke took Eiji to where he saw the boy. Eiji then took over, using the sensing skills he had developed over several lifetimes to track the boy from there. They found the boy a few streets over, casually walking with sand swirling slightly around his feet.

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Gaara sensed him before he saw him. A man, looking maybe 20 or so in age, was walking towards him with a disarming smile on his face.

He had long black hair and pale skin. His eyes were a deep forest green. His face was sort of sharp, but not overly so, and looked sort of aristocratic. The man was wearing civilian clothes but Gaara had grown up around shinobi and could spot, even if only barely, several weapons hidden on the man's person.

But it wasn't the man's appearance that drew Gaara's eye to him. It was rather the aura the man seemed to have. He walked with a barely restrained grace to his steps and there was something different to his eyes. Something that drew Gaara to him.

"Hello there." the man greeted.

He was an odd man, Gaara decided. Most people knew by now to stay away from him lest they risk his anger or thirst for blood.

 _Mother, what should I do?_

 _ **Thats..! Don't kill him. Leave him alive.. He is important to me.**_ The voice responded.

Gaara's eyes narrowed. Mother had never wanted him to not kill a person before. Why would she tell him to stop now? It didn't make any sense to him. He wanted to kill. He wanted the man's blood to soak into his sand and prove his existence, but Mother didn't want him to do so. The sand in his feet shifted to reflect his agitation, and the man gained a knowing glint in his eye.

"My name is Eiji, although I have gone by other names. Once I was called Aoba. You and I are similar, did you know that?"

 ** _Aoba! I knew it was you!_**

"Similar?" Gaara murmured as he watched the strange man Mother did not want to kill.

"Indeed. You hold one where I hold nine. Shukaku has spoken to you, hasn't he?"

 _Shukaku?_ Gaara questioned.

 _ **Thats me, you fool!**_ Mother yelled at him.

"Yes." Gaara responded.

"I need to speak with Shukaku. Would you mind coming with me so that I may do so?"

Gaara hesitantly nodded. This situation was odd, he thought as the pair wandered away from watching eyes.

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Once the two were sufficiently hidden from prying eyes Eiji turned to the boy once more. He really should ask the boy's name….

"Alright… Before we begin, might I ask your name?"

"Its Gaara… Sabaku no Gaara." The boy responded in a monotone.

Eiji then blinked at the boy. How odd that he would be called Sabaku. Junpei had been a member of the Sabaku tribe after all. The two of them might be related.

Eiji then smiled, "Alright then, Gaara. I'm going to change what I look like now. When I'm done I need you to look me in the eye and not resist what I'm doing. I'm going to pull both of us into your mindscape."

The boy got an odd look in his eyes before nodding.

Eiji then shifted into twenty year old Fuzen. He lost a good inch from his form as Eiji, his hair darkened just slightly and his eyes turned the onyx color the Uchiha was known for. He stretched once, then smiled at Gaara.

He activated his sharingan, the tomoe swirling faster as he did so, and then pulled both of them into Gaara's mindscape.

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Gaara's mindscape was a desert. Naruto supposed that it was to be expected, given that he was Shukaku's jinchuuriki and that he grew up in the desert.

The sky was completely clear, not a cloud in sight, and the sun was almost unbearably hot. Sand stretched in every direction for miles and the only object Naruto could see was a large shrine like cage with Shukaku inside.

Naruto smiled once he saw the tailed beast. He looked exactly the same as the last time Naruto had seen him, several hundred years ago.

That was when Shukaku saw him. He stood up, pulling on the chains that held him down and called out.

 **"Aoba!"**

 **AN: And that's a wrap! My longest chapter so far too... Hmmm...**

 **So what did you think? Not my best chapter, I don't think, but it did the job didn't it? As it turns out, Gaara is incredibly hard to write when he is crazy like right now... Oh! And if anyone is wondering about the timeline it goes like this: Yashamaru betrayed Gaara when he was 6. Gaara is now 9-ish (which means Naruto and Sasuke are also 9-ish) It's been a little over a year since the Uchiha Massacre that was at the beginning of the chapter.**

 **Brief note of the ability to talk to gods thing (because I KNOW people are going to bring it up) That ability works somewhat similarly to the sharingan in terms of when he can use it. He can't use it unless he is Daichiro and since his first reincarnation, they (the gods) have not really been talking to him. It takes quite a bit of effort for him to speak with them now. It may play a role later on, but mostly I created it as a plot point for why the priests would want to hold a little boy (the son of the head priest no less) captive and not allow him outside. You probably won't be seeing much of the ability beyond brief mention when I touch on Naruto's life as Daichiro.**

 **Quick thank you to** KHARAKI TAKAN **for pointing out to me that I accidentally called Itachi a she in the last chapter (woops...) I went back and fixed it.**


	5. Chapter 4 - The Apple Incident

" **Aoba!"**

"Hello there, old friend. How have you been doing since I saw you last?" Naruto called out to the tailed beast in greeting.

Sand swirled inside the shine in a pleased manner when Naruto called Shukaku a friend.

" **Its terrible! I'm trapped in a stupid little boy and I can't get free! Help me Aoba! I want out!"**

"I already know that and I want to say I'm sorry for your situation. It was my student who originally proposed the idea for Jinchuuriki and put it into action. Therefore this could be considered my fault. If I had taught him better…." Naruto grimaced before continuing, "But it doesn't matter now. What's done is done. And as for getting you free, I'm afraid I'd have to take a look at the seal that's keeping you trapped. I would, however, like to do it without killing the boy."

" **Why does the boy have to live?"** Shukaku whined, " **Can't we just kill him? He's trapped me for years!"**

"Through no fault of his own," Naruto interjected, "He didn't have any say in the matter, much less a choice, and I find myself sympathizing with him. I am, afterall, in a similar situation."

" **A similar situation? What do you mean a** _**similar situation**_ **?!"**

"I'm Kurama's Jinchuriki at the moment. He and I have yet to figure a way to separate us without killing my own body. It's quite frustrating, I'll admit." Naruto pouted as he thought about it.

He and Kurama had been looking over the seal that kept Kurama bound to his current body. It was a rather complex piece of fuuinjutsu, one that incorporated several different styles of fuuinjutsu all meshed together to create a masterpiece. It was incredibly difficult to read unless you had the notes used for the creation, and Naruto was wishing more and more that he could figure out where those notes were hidden. If he could find them, then he could figure out how to separate the two of them. The only other part that they had to get around was the fact that Naruto's current physical form was getting far too dependant on Bijuu chakra to be able to successfully separate the two of them. In another year or two, the extraction alone would kill him within the hour due to his body going into shock from the lack of Bijuu chakra within his system.

" **Kurama? That asshole is here?!"** Shukaku yelled, sand twisting and spiking around him as he raged.

"Calm down, Shukaku!" Naruto called out, "He's not connected to this mindscape if that's what you're worried about. It's just me and you in here at the moment. Shukaku, might I ask you how your Jinchuriki has been treated since your sealing?"

" **Bah! I'm not worried! I just don't like the bastard! And the brat's been treated as all my jinchuuriki have been treated. With fear. It's the way things work with the damnable Jinchuriki system. Bijuu get sealed, the jinchuuriki gets orchestrated and trained, then when the jinchuuriki dies the bijuu is just sealed again into another host! They kept me in a kettle between my hosts.** _ **A kettle!**_ **Do you know how uncomfortable being sealed in a kettle is?! Its horrible, damn it!"**

Naruto looked pensive for a moment before nodding to himself. Then he looked up at Shukaku once more.

"Shukaku. How about we make a deal?"

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Sasuke waited for Naruto to come back. Once he had showed Naruto where he had seen Gaara, it hadn't been hard for Naruto to find the Ichibi Jinchuuriki and wander off with him. Now all Sasuke had to do was wait for Naruto's return.

That was when Naruto came back with the redheaded boy trailing after him. Naruto grinned at Sasuke and waved, calling out a greeting as he did so.

"Welcome back," said Sasuke as he eyed the redhead warily.

"Good to be back. Sasuke, meet Sabaku no Gaara. He'll be traveling with us from now on. Gaara, meet Uchiha Sasuke. He's the friend I told you about. I do hope that the two of you can get along." Naruto grinned then, a wide grin that stretched across his face.

Sasuke nodded in Gaara's direction, still a little wary no matter how comfortable Naruto looked in Gaara's presence. Gaara, in turn, simply stared blankly.

"Alright! Now with that out of the way, we should be off to our next destination. I was thinking the Land of Rivers, hm? Some of the sights I've seen when I was last there were amazing! I can't wait to see how they have changed, if at all. What about you, Sasuke? It'll be fun, right?"

Sasuke blinked at Naruto, then allowed a small smile to appear on his face, "Yeah. That'll be fun. Let's go to the Land of Rivers then."

Naruto nodded before turning and walking off in the direction of the Hotel he had booked a place for them to stay at. Sasuke turned to follow him, before pausing when he noticed Gaara didn't move.

"Well?" Sasuke called over his shoulder, "You're going to be our friend, aren't you? Then come on, Naruto's waiting for us!"

Sasuke turned back and walked after Naruto.

It wasn't until he noticed Gaara following them again that Sasuke allowed another brief smile to touch his lips.

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They left Suna and headed for the Land of Rivers only three days later.

Getting Gaara out of Suna was easier than anticipated. They simply used the same physical henge that Naruto had taught Sasuke on Gaara to get rid of his more distinctive features and walked out the front gates. The guards did not even spare them a second glance. After that it was a simple matter of hitching a ride with the next lot of caravans that were leaving the city.

While they traveled across the desert towards the Land of Rivers, the trio discussed what they wanted to do next. At the moment they only had the vague goal of heading to Kumo at one point or another, but _how_ to get there and which route to take was another matter entirely.

"I also kind of want to stop by Uzushio."

"Uzushio?" Sasuke looked at Naruto curiously. The Uchiha hadn't heard of such a place before.

"Yup! Uzushiogakure. Home of the Uzumaki Clan," said Naruto, a proud look in his eyes, "They were allies of the Leaf, did you know that? But they were almost entirely wiped out during the Second Shinobi War. Now the remnants of the Uzumaki clan is scattered across the elemental nations."

Sasuke hummed and Gaara looked over at Naruto with interest. The three of them were seated around another campfire a short while away from the rest of the merchants. Nights in the desert were cold so the three of them huddled close to the campfire to get what heat they could.

"What exactly do you want to do at Uzushio?" Gaara asked. He had opened up, if only a little, since they had left Suna and both Sasuke and Naruto had shown that they genuinely wanted to be his friend. He was still very closed off, but it was better than a scant few days ago.

"Some scrolls mostly," Naruto replied, "There are bound to be a few stashes that survived the destruction of Uzushio and if I know the Uzumaki, there are certain to be sealing scrolls containing all sorts of useful information. I figured we could take and bring them with us, both to hold supplies and so that I can use the technique scrolls when I teach the two of you. After all, no matter how good my memory is, I'm bound to have forgotten something."

Gaara nodded, conceding with the logic behind his decision.

"So we're going to make a stop to Uzushio at some point. Where is that?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto held up a finger, asking them to give him a moment while he dug through his own travel bag for a map. Once he found one he spread it out in front of the other two boys.

"It's here," Naruto said, tapping the map with his finger.

Sasuke nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking again, "How about this? We could follow the coastline after we get to the Land of Rivers. We'll pass through the Land of Waves then head northeast through the Land of Fire towards Uzushio. After that we head north, cross the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost to get to Kumo in the Land of Lightning."

Naruto looked at the map and followed Sasuke as the Uchiha mapped out the path they would take. Turning it over in his head once, he agreed. It was a sound plan.

"That's a good idea. Let's go with that."

And off they went.

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The Land of Rivers earned its namesake through the geography of its landscape. Rivers of varying shape and size littered the area, both above and below ground. Over centuries the long stretches of water carved out canyons and deep underground caverns, making it rather easy for an average traveller to venture in and lose their way if they did not have a clearly detailed map or a pretty good picture of the tricky terrain. It also provided the perfect place for Naruto to teach his students better control.

"Alright! Let's take a break here!" Naruto announced as he set down his pack and grinned at his two companions. Gaara merely blinked at Naruto before taking a seat where he stood, and Sasuke tilted his head to stare for a moment.

"A break? Shouldn't we travel a bit longer?" Sasuke asked as he reluctantly set his pack down and joined Naruto in gathering suitable firewood for the campfire.

"Normally, yes," Naruto started out as he picked up another loose branch, "But I've decided it's time for your next lesson in Chakra Control!"

"Chakra Control?" Sasuke scrunched up his nose. He had never really liked those lessons very much. Tree Climbing had been a pain to learn and he hadn't really seen the point of it at the time. It wasn't until later when he sparred with Naruto again that he noticed how much easier using his attacks had become. But even then, Chakra Control lessons weren't precisely what he would call 'fun' and Naruto had a particular obsession with them, something that Sasuke attributed to Naruto being an Iryo-nin.

"Yup! I also need to test Gaara to gauge his level of control. I may have to adjust our lessons a little to ensure the both of you are at approximately the same stage before I am willing to move onto other stuff." Naruto grinned at Sasuke.

The two then went back to the clearing where Gaara had been left alone to set up the rest of camp. They left the wood at the camp before Naruto took both his students to the nearest river.

"Next step in Chakra Control! Water Walking!" With that announcement, Naruto continued walking even as Sasuke and Gaara halted at the edge of the riverbank. Casually strolling to the dead centre of the river, he stood easily on the calm surface and rewarded his students' stunned expressions with a wide grin.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Naruto called out to them, waving his hand in a gesture to join him.

Sasuke smirked confidently and took a step out onto the stream. Much like when he had first started out Tree Climbing, he managed to get a few steps before he plunged into the river. When he burst up again to the surface, he found Naruto laughing.

Sasuke scowled up at the reincarnated man and swam back to the shore to try again.

The rest of the afternoon progressed similarly.

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After the sun had set the trio gathered around the campfire they had built. Both Gaara and Sasuke were dripping wet, but Naruto was as dry as ever. Naruto arranged the three fish he had caught over the fire to bake while Gaara and Sasuke gripped their blankets closer to them, shivering from the cool night air.

"They're almost done," mumbled Naruto, picking at the cooking fish.

"How much longer?" Asked Sasuke, "I'd much rather be wet than wet _and_ hungry..."

"Well you wouldn't be wet if you had better control, now would you?" Teased Naruto, a sly smile spreading out on his face.

"Bah! You're the one who wouldn't tell us how it is done. Why can't you give us a hint?" Sasuke complained as he pulled his blanket tighter around him.

"Because it's better to learn this sort of thing on your own. Your chakra system is your own and it's unique to each individual person. What works for you might not work for another, so it's better that you learn in through self-experiment," explained Naruto, a fond look on his face, "You know, Hashirama once asked me the same thing. He hated my control lessons, even if he saw the necessity."

"Hashirama? As in Senju Hashirama?" Sasuke asked as Gaara looked over at Naruto with interest.

"Yup! He was my student during my last life. A nice kid and an even better man. He was a good person, even if he had his faults. I'm glad to have known him."

"You taught the first Hokage?" Gaara questioned. Naruto hadn't brought this up before.

"In my last life I was a Senju. My name was Mamoru. Terrible times to be born in, back in the Warring Clans era. You'd wake up every day and either go out to fight a battle or wait at home for the wounded to return, all the while praying that those who got left behind weren't someone you knew. The dead were left where they fell, you know. Usually, only the side which won that particular skirmish had the time to collect their dead and dying. It was a cold, dark and miserable period. Hashirama was a breath of fresh air. He was kind and foolish and a visionary. He hated fighting, no matter how talented he was at it. And he had a heart that could love a million people and still have room to love more. I still remember the day he came home, only to discover that he had befriended an Uchiha of all people. He was 13 at the time, still so young. He loved the boy too, claimed him as his best friend even after he found out the boy's clan name and the two were forced to stop their meetings. 'Tis the reason why I only ever told him who I really was in that life, he was always far more open and accepting than anyone else that I met in that life."

Sasuke and Gaara exchanged a glance before Sasuke spoke up again, "Can you tell us about him?"

Naruto looked at them, amusement shining in his eyes, "Who? Hashirama? Sure I guess... Lets see... What's a good story to tell... Oh I know! Since we're on the subject of Chakra Control, why don't I tell you about the Apple Incident?"

"The Apple Incident?" Gaara questioned.

Naruto nodded, "Indeed. That was back when Hashirama still couldn't control his bloodline properly. One of the exercises I had him do to help increase his control was to take a seed and grow it into a mature plant. Earlier in the day before the incident took place, Tobirama had managed to get Hashirama riled up and it was one of the rare instances where it stuck. So when he did the exercise he put far too much chakra into it because he wasn't thinking straight. The apple tree grew up, and then it continued to grow and poor Hashi couldn't stop it! There were so many apple trees in the yard by the time we managed to get the growth to stop, we were eating apples for _months_ afterwards."

Naruto laughed a bit to himself, remembering the panicked look on his student's face when the apple tree refused to stop growing. It was even more hilarious when the rest of the clan had come out to the training yard to see what all the commotion was about, only to find a forest of fully grown apple trees in its place. Hashirama had gotten teased about the incident for years afterward, and no one had ever forgotten it.

Sasuke snickered along with Naruto, picturing the Hokage that was always portrayed in the books in such a position was hilarious.

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Traveling through the Land of Rivers was interesting for both Gaara and Sasuke. Naruto came up with half a million Chakra Control exercises to keep them occupied as they walked through the many forests and canyons and across the many rivers. Whenever they settled down for the night, Naruto would continue to tell them stories, ones from his previous lives and ones that he made up. There was hardly ever a quiet moment, and that was the way all three of them liked it.

They crossed into the Land of Waves not long after that, when the trees turned taller and the mist hung a bit thicker. The Land of Waves was a small country sat on a beach with several islands a short way offshore to its name. The main, and largest, island was its capital as well as being the closest one to the shore, and that's where Gaara, Naruto, and Sasuke went.

Due to Gaara and Sasuke looking nothing alike beyond their pale skin, Naruto was free to be a bit more liberal with what form he took in order to get them into places. For the ferry ride over, and for their time in Wave, Naruto became Haruo, a wandering healer traveling the Elemental Nations, and Sasuke and Gaara became his two orphaned apprentices.

Haruo had been Naruto's fourth life, way back when everyone barring larger clans didn't have last names. Haruo had been born a lower class civilian and had worked his way up to become a rather famous doctor. He was especially well known for incorporating Ninshuu into his healing, something that hadn't been done before among the common folk due to the amount of control of a person's chakra that was required to be able to do so. He had taken on many students in that life, and had rather enjoyed teaching them all, even if only a few of them were able to properly utilise the medical Ninshuu he had helped created. His teachings had later on been altered to make it easier to use and became the modern day Medical Ninjutsu. While it wasn't quite the same - and in some cases as effective - it was much easier to learn than the original and Naruto was happy with its progress.

The trio arrived in Wave, all three of them wearing their traveling cloaks and ready to get off the boat and settle down for the day. They had been traveling for quite a while before they got on the ferry, so the rest was more than welcome. However, before they could do so first they would have to stock up on food.

Haruo turned to look at his two traveling companions, "We're going to go to the market to stock up on some vegetables. The next stretch after Wave wouldn't have a town for quite a while and while we can hunt, I'd think some veggies would be good for us, hm?"

Sasuke nodded at his teacher and glanced at Gaara before the two followed Haruo into the streets towards Wave's marketplace.

The marketplace was alive and packed with people during the earlier hours of the day. There were a great many stands that sold fresh fish caught locally, and even more stores selling everything from wild boar to bags of rice. There were even stands that sold things made by local artisans. The most common was necklaces made from polished stones gathered in a cave on a smaller island to the south of the main island.

The people were just as diverse. There were fishers, farmers, painters, crafters, housewives, and children. All sorts of people wandered the streets of the marketplace that made Wave famous.

Haruo and his two companions wandered from stall to stall and bought whatever food caught their eye. They also made a few stops at the stands the artisans had set up and browsed through the items there. It was as they were walking through the market with the food and various other items that they had bought sealed away in scrolls that there was a loud crash followed by a shout of pain nearby.

Haruo only needed to briefly make eye contact with Sasuke and Gaara before they rushed to the scene.

A cart carrying a large amount of wood had crashed and the wood had managed to trap someone underneath it. Already several people were helping free the trapped person, but the man clearly had a badly injured leg from the crash.

Haru went forward as soon as the last of the wood had been lifted off the man, "You're hurt."

"I'll be fine…" the man grumbled, even as he winced as he shifted his leg.

"I think not. That leg is clearly broken. Let me heal it, I'm a medic." Haruo stated as he knelt down and put his hands out, his palms already glowing with the soothing green light of medical chakra.

"Yer a ninja?" The man looked surprised as the pain faded from the injury.

"I am. So are my two students. We're just passing through, picking up some supplies before we head on our way. Brace yourself, I need to set the bone."

There was a crack and another yelp of pain, before the bone was set and Haruo finished healing up the leg, "There we go! All better. I should treat your scrapes and bruises too from the crash, but the leg was the worst of it." Haruo smiled at the man who just blinked back.

"Thanks…" He mumbled, sort of absentmindedly, "Hey, what's your name? Mine's Tazuna."

"Haruo," the medic replied, "Nice to meet you, Tazuna."

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Tazuna and his family were nice people. After Haruo had healed Tazuna's leg, the bridge builder had invited Haruo to his home for dinner as a sign of thanks. Haruo, Gaara and Sasuke stayed the night at Tazuna's place, chatting with Kaiza, Inari, Tsunami, and Tazuna. The next morning they left with a promise that they would come back and visit again one day.

The trio boarded the ferry once more and Haruo grinned at Gaara and Sasuke, "Next stop! Usushio!"

 **AN: That's a wrap! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed! You guys are awesome! Seriously! I also want to say that this chapter was ridiculously difficult to write for some reason. I don't even know why, it just was. The meeting with Tazuna especially was difficult to write. I wrote like 10 different versions before I finally settled on the one you see here.**

 **I also want to say thank you to the lovely** Kagetsuki-taicho **who has agreed to be my beta! Thank you sooo much! She has already gone over the previously posted chapters to correct errors and the like. Nothing big has changed so you don't necessarily need to re-read though.**


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